Upon arrival to Kansas City this weekend, if I couldn’t remember why I was there, the entire city skyline would’ve reminded me. Absolutely every major building — and even Union Station’s dinosaur – was lit up red. Kansas City Chief’s red. But of course I never would’ve forgotten my reason for the trip: this was…
Category: Drew
Sunshine State
So my son now lives where normal people go on vacation. I helped my son move and was able to visit two different beaches in the process. I guess if there’s one bright spot in having my kids live far away from home, it’s that I will have fun visiting them.
Urban Bourbon (and More)
“We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home, for the old Kentucky home far away.” I’ve been a little slow getting things posted lately, but I had a few wonderful weekends in October that I wanted to share. First up: a Kentucky adventure with my oldest son. Always my gracious running buddy, he…
Return Tickets
“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” I’d posted a few days ago about the half marathon Drew and I completed in Savannah last weekend, but I didn’t post the other scenes from my Southern adventure. If photos are indeed a return ticket to past adventures, I’m sure glad to…
Boom
“No matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everyone on the couch.” This weekend brought an adventure to see my older son in his new home state of Georgia. A few months ago, he had the idea of running the Savannah Rock and Roll half marathon together. Er, well, we would participate in the same…
Oregon Adventure, Part II
And the reflections on our Oregon Adventure continue. Smith Rock State Park Welcome to the birthplace of American sport climbing — and apparently one of my greatest fears. Yes, we trekked to the top of this thing. This gives you an idea of where we started. And here’s where we ended up. Suffice it to…
Garden of Glass at Night
For the first time since Christmas, I have my family together. We spent our first full evening at the Botanical Garden with Tanner’s girlfriend and my Little Sister for the Garden of Glass at Night. Before checking out the glass, however, we wandered around the Garden grounds as the sun went down. I’d somehow forgotten…
Change is Good
This weekend brought the GO! St. Louis Marathon Weekend to our house. And if I could describe it in one word, it would be…different. Not bad different. Just different. For starters, and most obviously, the start and finish points physically changed from the Union Station area on Market Street to directly under the Arch. It…
Big Apple Birthday
“One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” – Thomas Wolfe Today I recovered from celebrating my birthday in New York City. I only took photos with my iPhone, so I didn’t have as many pictures to comb through. What I loved most about this trip,…
Let Your Heart Be Light
Our annual trip to the Way of Lights at Our Lady of the Snows looked and felt a little different this year. Our car was a little more crowded with some new faces. But that’s the great thing about love — the more we give, the more we have. The circle can always be expanded. New…
Tree Skirts and Santa Shirts
When I glanced at our Christmas tree this morning, I noticed that our new tree skirt appeared to be in a ball under the branches. Upon closer inspection, I realized our Violet was that “ball” and our skirt was just fine. It was just hard to tell where the skirt ended and the cat began….
Life Lately…
…it’s been busy around here. Within the past few days, my kids and I have seen Coldplay in concert… …saw the Legends of the Dome game (the Rams’ last hurrah in St. Louis. Thank you, Isaac Bruce.)… …including VIP passes and an autograph session… …and went to the ballpark with my Little Sister for Build-a-Bear night….
Rock ‘n’ Roll, Chi-Style
Just a few scenes from a quick weekend trip to Chicago for a race with my boy — a half marathon for him, a 10K for me. And apparently a half marathon for a Pokemon trainer and his Pikachu. The 10K took a different course than the half…all along Lake Michigan. It was gorgeous. And…
Freedom 4 Miler
Started the long weekend running the Freedom 4 Miler race with Drew this morning. A solid race for us both — and you simply can’t beat a start (and finish) line at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium. The rain held off long enough for us to get in the entire event, so we were super fortunate….
Putting the “Her” in Hero
What a gorgeous Saturday for my favorite 5K! This was my third time running the Girls on the Run, but this was the biggest one I remember. 8,000 people were registered, all coming together for this wonderful program designed to empower girls through running. Seriously, this view never gets old. And neither do sweet little…
Some Thoughts on Trials
This afternoon brought a trip to the oncologist to get the results from my older son’s recent MRIs and labs. And the report was a good one: his tumors are stable and, for now, all is well. We’ll take it. But something interesting happened during this visit. We took a different elevator today that dropped us…
Unusual Beauty
“The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one.” Tonight, I found a really nice one. We’re back at the hospital for another round of the dreaded MRIs. The same MRIs that confine my kids to a claustrophobic tube for anywhere between three and four hours a pop. A recent…
Not So Long Ago…
…in an arena not so far away… Late last week the kids and I went to the St. Louis Blues game for Star Wars Night. It was the boys’ first game. I hadn’t been in at least 24 or 25 years. It was a nod to one’s inner geek and a nod to one’s inner jock that made…
Life Lately: Holiday Edition
A few photos on the iPhone lately include glimpses of… …my kitties’ company… and cupcake baking. A full Sunday in the kitchen and I had four dozen from-scratch cupcakes to show for it: red velvet (top left), peppermint (middle), egg nog (lower left), and gingerbread with cinnamon frosting (right row). The irony of this photo…
A Very Good Day
In anticipation of the holiday next week and in an effort to get somewhat caught up, the boys and I all took yesterday off for a full day of shopping and cheer. We went across the river over into downtown Saint Charles for some lunch and a bit of shopping. I don’t get over there…
Some Thoughts On Connecting
Round 2 of MRIs tonight, this time with my older son. Keeping myself occupied by taking advantage of the free wi-fi — and keeping myself feeling seasonal by rummaging through my existing Christmasy photos. This is so weird. We’re in a world-class cancer center and not a single hall is decked. There are a few…
Birthday Boy
Belated birthday dinner for my eldest. The big 23. A special occasion, smart phones were purposely moved to the center of the table/out of reach, while actual, focused conversations took place among three undistracted participants. It was nice. Of course, once the meal was consumed and after I was given the check, one by one,…
Running in the Windy City
Our second marathon is in the books — mine, as well as Drew’s! Neither of us achieved the times we were hoping for, but we finished. It was a little too warm, unbelievably windy, and an all-around tough day. But we got through our training, made it to the start line uninjured, endured 26.2 miles, crossed the finish and…
My Favorites
Because it’s Mother’s Day, I didn’t feel bad dragging one of my kids to the City Garden this morning. Just a quick trip to see what’s blooming. (This was after a nice hike at Powder Valley.) Peonies….ohhhhh. Especially these. They look like they’re marbled. These irises reminded me so much of a Vincent Van Gogh piece….
hey there, friends 